LiverKick - LiverKick

Here is a fight from last weekend that slipped under the radar: It's Showtime 77kg champion Artem Levin vs. WBC Muay Thai World Light Heavyweight champion Kaoklai Kaennorsing. The fight was 5 rounds, full Muay Thai rules for Kaoklai's WBC title and took place at an event in Russia.

Levin came in off a career best year in 2010 that saw him quickly rise up the ranks. In the last year, Levin claimed both the It's Showtime title and the Gold medal at the SportAccord Combat Games. Along the way he defeated two men who could each make a solid claim for being #1 at 77kg: Yodsaenklai Fairtex and L'houcine Ouzgni. He's on a 12 fight win streak, and has to be considered the top man at 77kg at this point.

Kaoklai is a Muay Thai legend who K-1 fans may best know for his surprising 2004/2005 K-1 Grand Prix runs. He's in the twilight of his superb career, although he did put together a 5-0 record in 2010 and is not yet completely finished.

It feels like a great weight lifted off of my shoulders that GLORY have finally gone ahead and announced that GLORY 10 will be in Los Angeles, California (or at least in the area of Los Angeles). GLORY 10 will feature a one-night, four man Middleweight tournament with four of the best in the business going toe-to-toe. It is Joe Schilling, Artem Levin, Steven Wakeling and Jason Wilnis competing for being called the GLORY Middleweight Champion.

On top of that is the main event which is Jerome Le Banner vs. Sergei Kharitonov as well as a Super Fight between Robin Van Roosmalen and Shemsi Beqiri. There will be much more announced soon for the card.

It takes place September 28th at the Citizen's Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

Some interesting updates to the It's Showtime Amsterdam card on March 6:

In an undercard bout, the #22 ranked Leroy Kaestner (pictured) faces Ramzi Tamaditi. Kaestner is a young fighter training under Peter Aerts, and is looking to move up the ranks. He's had a number of big fights, including wins over Gago Drago last year, and Marco Pique in the K-1 MAX Europe GP 2009, but he's not yet been able to put together a string of wins that really pushes him up to the next level. Still, at just 22 years old and only 5 years as a pro, he has time to develop, and remains one of the young fighters to watch. His last fight was a loss to Armen Petrosyan in December.

Ramzi "The Professor" Tamaditi is a lesser known fighter, though he has received some accolades, and is well regarded as an unknown prospect. He defeated Imro Main on an It's Showtime card last year, and has done some training at Chakuriki. A win over Kaestner would definitely elevate his status. Watch a video package on Tamaditi below, put together by the always great AFAV.

Also on the undercard: Warren Stevelmans vs. Mo Medhar. Stevelmans is a K-1 MAX veteran who is always a tough opponent, although he has struggled a bit lately. His last fights were at the K-1 MAX Madrid show, where he made the tournament finals before losing to Rafi Zouheir. Medhar is looking to capitalize on his 2009 It's Showtime victory over Gago Drago. Like Tamaditi, he has another opportunity here to really establish his name in the 70kg division.

Finally, It's Showtime has not yet made it official, but Fighting Stars, the company co-promoting the event, announced a bout between IS 77kg champion Artem Levin and Younes el Mhassani. Their announcement indicates it will be a title fight, although it's also listed as 3 rounds, when IS does 5 rounds for title fights. This would be Levin's first fight since winning the belt against Aussi in December. The Russian fighter had a huge 2010, defeating two of the world's best in Yodsaenklai Fairtex and L'houcince "Aussi" Ouzgni, establishing himself as the clear #1 at 77kg. Levin is currently scheduled to face Kaoklai on February 23 - not sure if this would impact that fight, as IS typically doesn't like having their fighters compete so quickly after another bout.

This week we had the pleasure of doing an Interview with Glory Middleweight Champion Artem "The Lion" Levin. Not only is he the best middleweight kickboxer in the world at the moment he is also a very humble, down to earth guy just like anyone of us. He's been doing martial arts from a young age and it shows in his fights by how confident he is and his ability to see attacks coming. We found it very interesting to hear what Artem had to say about certain topics. Here are both the English and the Russian version of the interview for everyone to enjoy.

LK: Hi Artem, just in case some people don't know can I ask your fight stats first? Height, Weight, Stance, Record and Titles (amateur and pro), and Age?

LK: How did you get the nickname "The Lion" is there a good story about it? or did you just like it?

AL: Lev is a cognate word for lion in Russian. I was called that name since I’ve been a child. It has become a ringname when I’d got first professional titles. I’ve read and seen a lot of things about amazing lions. Now I am “The Lion”, at least I’ve got lion’s heart.

LK: What age did you start Martial arts, what did you start with, what got you into it, and did you ever imagine at 27 years old you would be Glory middleweight champion and have multiple world titles? Also I personally love your dancing entrances, they are one of my favorites, when did that start?

AL: I’ve started going in for muaythai since I was ten. My brothers always prepared me for boxing career, telling me that boxing is my fate. Thus I’ve always known I’ll become a champion. Even when first three years of practice I could win nothing. I appreciate my brothers’ work and talk raising me as a winner. I try to relax and enjoy the process. Movies with Van Damme led me to the gym. One of the best moments is his dancing in the bar from Kickboxer movie to sounds of Feeling So Good Today. I enter the ring with feeling so good and it will be a fine hunt for a lion. I’d be glad if somewhen Jean Claude will attend my fight.

LK: We have not heard too much from you since you won the last man standing tournament, what have you been up too?

AL: I won Russian National Championships in August. I’ve taken some rest after the great tournament. There were other things to get done. I’m in the game again, I’m hungry and I’m ready for the fights. And I’m excited to step in the ring. LK: Can you tell us the full Glory 17: Last Man Standing experience starting from arriving in LA to waking up next to your belt the next morning?

AL: I’ve been glad to see sunny Los Angeles after a very long trip. LA gives a sustained energy. I’ve been boxing here several times. But for the first time I was here with a large crew from Russia. Thanks to all my team. And other guys from US came to support me, from The Boxing Club of San Diego particularly. I’m on training camp here currently. There are my friends, so I haven’t been alone. I’ve walked on the ocean beach. The energy it gives. Nothing compares. I’ve taken power, force, strength from it to win the tournament. There were organizing issues, shoots, interviews and work outs each day. It exhausted me, but my team have made everything to make me feel ready and charged to the fullest by the start of the show. I’ve got no any powers after the tournament. I’ve gone out at the arena with no emotions. And couldn’t believe in that it’s real, it happens to me for a month.

LK: Also, this is a question I had to ask, What is your opinion of your first fight with Joe Schilling, especially the extra round and what did you adjust for the second fight to make sure nothing like that could happen again? Would you like to fight him one more time to show people the first time was lucky?

AL: It’s become the main motivation to the next fight. Everybody has seen what’s happened there. I’ve made a mistake in the second round, thought I’d won the fight already. And Joe punished me. It lead to extra round. Judges took away the victory, but it’s my fault actually. Scoring in GLORY is an interesting story. I can give out a point before the bell, because I know they will find a way to take it somehow. And again about the fight against Joe, I’ve been ready to everything, to Joe’s tactical and technical suprises, to judges’s surprises, that’s my aim was to come out and win undoubtely. Joe is a really considerable fighter, brave with strong heart. I support him always in other fights.

LK: I've always noticed that you also fight in the IFMA or SportAccord Muay Thai championships with headgear, shinpads and full gear, what keeps such an accomplished fighter like yourself going back to these tournaments every year?

AL: I have certain responsibilities before Russian Muaythai Federation. And I am the captain of Russian national muaythai team. I’m honoured to lead the team and to contribute to development of muaythai in Russia.

LK: Tell us about where you do most of your training?

AL: it’s my homeland, Prokopyevsk is a small town in Siberia. My coach is a man who made my first victory on local amateur championship at age of 13 and who was in the corner when I won prestigious world pro titles, including GLORY. He’s like second farther to me. I’m on training camp in San Diego’s The Boxing Club now.

LK: You have a new young talent Artem Vakhitov that you train with he is rated #6 in Glory right now, do you think he will become Glory Light Heavyweight champion this year? Also what happened with him no longer being in the Glory 18 tournament on Nov 7?

AL: It all depends on Artem. He’s young, hungry, ambitious and he wants the title. So, he’s able to achieve it. As far as I know he concentrates on health and recreation, not to worsen latest injuries. He will perform much better on the next events.

LK: Any talks with Glory about who you will be defending your belt against next? Or is there anyone that you want to fight next if you could choose?

AL: it doesn’t matter who is the opponent. You should win the strongest to be the best. There we no negotiations on the point. I don’t know what does the pause in sequence of events means. But as soon as the belt I mine, I’m opened for discussion with ace in my glove.

LK: Last question is one I like to ask every fighter:

Hardest Puncher you've fought? AL: Yodsaenklai Fairtex

Hardest Kicker You've fought? AL: Yodsaenklai Fairtex

Hardest Fight? AL: it’s yet ahead

Favourite Fighter? AL: Ernesto Hoost

Artem Levin about Manhoef vs Schilling on Bellator 131:

AL: It will be an amazing event. The advantage in the bout will be on Melvin’s side. He is more experienced and proficient in mixed fight. He will do much better in parter. Joe’s strong points are longer reach, he should keep distance and use knees. He should be self-reliant: be focused and maintain fight plan. Both fighters have a knock-out punch and this can result an interesting bout. I will support Joe and I will attend the event. If he needs any help in preparation for the fight I’m totally in. He’s congenial soul, he’s been around the block. I do respect Melvin though, if he’s fought

LK: Thank you so much for your time Artem, would you like to say a few things to all your fans, sponsors, trainers etc?

AL: Watch my fights. Follow me in instagram and twitter. Ask me. Let’s communicate. I thank my team, I appreciate your support. I enclose gratitude to my coach Vitaly Miller, to my manager Sergey Busygin, therapist Evgeny Startsev and my family. And I appreciate the support of Stroyservice company, which contribute to my career and development of muaythai in Russia.

LK: Thanks again Artem, all of us at Liverkick are huge fans of you and your style in the ring and are looking forward to you watching you defend the Glory title this year.

Glory 21 has officially been announced for May 8th at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. Wikipedia tells us that the arena holds 16, 100 people for mixed martial arts events if the whole arena is used, so this could be a huge show.

Artem Levin will be defending his title against the winner of the tournament at Glory 20 in Dubai. So it could be Jason Wilnis, Alex Pereira, Wayne Barrett or Simon Marcus anyone one of them against Levin will be an exciting fight as they all bring something different to the ring.

There is also an all American heavyweight tournament which will grant the winner entry into the Glory heavyweight contender tournament where the winner will fight Rico Verhoeven for the belt. The American heavyweights have yet to be announced.

Of course this will all be Live on Spike TV on Friday, May 8th. I'm so happy to see Glory announcing events more than a month before the show now and giving us all a chance to get excited and also more time to buy tickets. [source]

June 21st, 2014 is a night that kickboxing fans will be talking about for quite some time. Glory 17, even though it ended up being a 6 hour event, at no point did I feel this was too much. They did a great job of making us look forward to the next fight even more than the last. Now, I am going to be brutally honest and give my opinions on all the things I enjoyed, and things I didn't on one of the most exciting 6 hours in combat sports.

So, the show started with the analyst desk consisting of Michael "The Voice" Schiavello, Stepen Quadros, and Remy Bonjasky. This is a very knowledgeable group of people but we barely heard from them, instead we had to listen to Duke Roufus and Ron Kruck constantly talk about either previous fights, history, or themselves. For some reason they always seem to ignore the fight that is happening and talk about the fighters past fights, or trainers and so on. I mean that is fine to do when there is a lull in the action to keep the viewers informed and educated, but when action is happening i would like the commentators to talk about the fight. I feel that if they could have maybe used the analyst desk as the commentators this event could have been pretty much perfect. I always favor Shiavello when it comes to kickboxing commentary, being that he is a true fan, knows all the fighters inside and out, talks accurately about what is happening in the fight, and he knows how to excite us and make us laugh. As for Remy Bonjasky this would have been the first time I've heard him commentate, but he is intelligent and well spoken, not to mention one of the best heavyweight kickboxers ever and usually its great when real fighters commentate, for example Roy Jones Jr. on HBO.

Enough about Kruck and Roufus, and more about the people that matter, the fighters. Everyone fought their heart out for Glory last night. The first fight on Spike TV was Canadian Gabriel Varga Vs. Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai from Thailand. Varga has been training with us in Surrey, B.C a little bit for the last few weeks so I know how good he is, and what he is capable of. When the fight started and Sitmonchai instantly interrupted Varga's combos with his own punches and Varga kept throwing very slow telegraphed spinning back fists, and back kicks, I began to get worried. But Varga did what Varga does best and kept grinding Sitmonchai down, until it seemed like the Thai was either tired or just lazy, he just stopped throwing anything even tho he had Varga's leg purple and swollen, thus earning Varga the win and moving onto the Finals of the Featherweight Contender Tournament.

Next fight put American Shane Oblonsky against Brazilian Marcus Vinicius, this was a strange fight because Vinicius actually threw zero kicks. He just tried to box Oblonsky's face off with big looping punches considering he was 7 inches shorter, he landed quite a few big punches, but Oblonsky's chin held up and he was constantly landing his big right hand leading to two knockdowns which moved him on to the Finals to face Varga.

Andy Ristie made short work of Ky Hollenbeck and honestly didn't even look like he was trying yet. He landed his signature step in right hand, then followed it with a stiff left jab/hook type punch then just watched as Hollenbeck wobbled and dropped his right hand, and landed a big left hook on the chin to end the fight in the first round. It was nice to see Ristie actually calm down and watch to land that last punch, he does hit ridiculously hard though, even without effort.

Now onto the Final of the Glory 4 man featherweight contender tournament and this fight was a war. Once again Varga came out with his tight defense and started wearing out Oblonsky, but Shane's technique was much tighter and cleaner in this fight than his last. Varga carried on pressing forward, keeping a high pace but he would sometimes break up the rhythm by throwing a spinning technique which really never landed, they were much too slow, every time he tried one I found myself hoping it was the last, and that he would use his energy into just beating on Oblonsky with leg kicks. In the last round both fighter's had very sore left legs, but neither of them decided to kick it nearly enough until Gabriel started smashing it in the last 30 seconds, which gave Gabriel Varga the hard earned unanimous decision victory, the Glory featherweight contender belt, and secured himself a spot in the Glory featherweight world title tournament.

Last fight on the Spike TV portion of the card was the 39 year old legend Mirko CroCop against the 274lbs, 24 year old Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller. I had high hopes for Miller in this fight, he has looked amazing in his last few professional boxing fights and I figured his hands would just be too good for CroCop. Truth is Millers hands very well may have been too good for the Croatian, if he actually threw them. Big baby decided he was going to kick, clinch, and knee the entire fight, which is basically CroCop's specialty. At one point Miller did land one knee that looked like it hurt CroCop but referee Big John McCarthy called it a low blow, replays showed otherwise in my eyes. It wasn't the most exciting fight, but still entertaining with the chance that Mirko could land his trademark left high kick at any point, and a few came very close to knocking Miller's head into the crowd. Mirko CroCop got the deserving unanimous decision putting an end to the controversy of his last fight with Big Baby.

Frequently Saturday night, at Glory Last Man Standing, Artem Levin resembled an untouchable task for whoever he met in the 8-Man Middleweight tournament that centered the PPV. His high-wire hands down stance, out of which he toggled between thundering left hook body and head shots, quick jabs, and jumping knees, governed by his speed, accuracy, and great head movement.

I personally had the opportunity to watch Levin fight last month, in Denver, at Glory 16, and I quickly gained a greater appreciation for his work. From my floor seat it was easier to catch his movement, the shifting of stances and various feints that precipitated and flowed into every move.

Since 2009 Levin has lost to two opponents, Joe Schilling, who he beat in their rematch Saturday night, and Simon Marcus at Lions Fight 9. He is now the Glory Middleweight Champion, the best kickboxing organization in the world. Noted MMA writer, Jack Slack, pondered the possibility that Levin was the best fighter on the planet Monday in his breakdown of Glory Last Man Standing.

But Levin has shown weaknesses that opponents have and could exploit better to now wrest the Glory Middleweight Championship from him:

I. Can Start Slow and Sloppy

The earlier rounds provide the best opportunities for opponents to hit Artem Levin, because he is feeling them out and has not yet committed to his hand-checking that enables him to punch and knee inside so well.

Many of his Glory fights have followed a simple narrative: they either begin even or in favor of his opponent, then he picks it up in the second, and finally pours it on in the third. His match against Sahak Parparyan at Glory 7 Milan aptly encapsulates this gradual escalation of dominance.

In the beginning of the fight, Levin left his head center and unguarded when he threw one of his favorite punches - the left hook to the body - and Parparyan would throttle him with a right cross. After taking a few more, he started checking Parparyan’s right hand but Parparyan then switched to his left, which while having to come farther to find Levin’s chin still landed.

By taking advantage of Levin’s down hands, throwing him off when he tried to clinch, punching in combinations and sneaking in leg kicks in front or behind them, he won the round. Levin followed it nicely, though, taking the second on most judge’s cards and dominating the third and especially fourth.

The biggest mistake Parparyan made was not carrying it into the subsequent rounds. This is a terrible error against Levin who is going to get better the longer the fight continues and who is capable of switching into a higher performance level if he feels he has to do more to win the fight.

Robert Thomas also found early success against Levin at Glory 16. Stepping into a throw a lead left jab, Levin stood completely sideways, right hand down. Thomas capitalized and struck with a left hook. Then Levin crushed him the remainder of the contest, blasting him with a couple powerful left hooks of his own.

Achieving first round does not presage success in the second or third against Levin (in these two cases, it obviously didn't), but it is opportunity to steal a round when he isn't jumping between front kicks, head punches, body punches, spinning back fists, etc. tearing you apart and clearly winning the fight.

II. Varied Attack

Falling into a pattern against Artem Levin seldom churns positive results. Once he discerns a trend he exploits it. The first Joe Schilling fight concluded in a loss for Levin, the fourth of his professional career, but also showcased some of his particular brilliance. Using the superman punch, for instance, Schilling was able to get closer to his chin, since many of his punches were ducked or quickly countered.

The second superman punch Schilling executed is indelible, the high water mark of one of Glory’s seminal events, yet it was the change in defense Levin made from the first superman punch that created the knockdown in the second round (and maybe Schilling’s leg). While Levin often counters his opponents’ punches, especially with a left hook, sometimes he does not make that his immediate priority. On these occasions he employs his size, speed, and athleticism rather than craft and angles. When Schilling first attempted a superman punch, Levin bent backwards, perhaps not expecting Schilling to be able to reach him.

At 6’4’’ Levin can anticipate succeeding in analogous situations. The technique allows him to evade the strike and also gain position as his opponent’s momentum still carries him forward. If Levin continued using this technique, Schilling might have missed the second superman punch, but it also might have spared the viewer a special example of his in-ring intelligence.

Following the knockdown, every time Schilling lifted his leg seemingly either to check a kick or set into motion another superman punch Levin lifted his leg, too, and turned into his body with a right hook. If he missed the right hook he would capitalize on the momentum and his opponent’s inability to see his back hand and flow into a spinning back fist. He also brilliantly once stepped outside of Schilling’s raised right leg and shot through a clean left straight.

Part of Levin’s wider success, including this, was the limited versatility of Schilling’s attack. He could figure it out and quickly assume an appropriate response. Many of Levin’s opponents have shared this characteristic. Simon Marcus was one of the exceptions, which, along with his terrifying clinch game, caused Levin trouble in their Lion Fight 9 contest.

It was also an example of how a varied attack can make his ability to implement his offense and start taking you apart difficult.

III. Hands Down

Levin’s penchant for keeping his hands low should theoretically tempt more head kicks. Against Schilling and Marcus, Levin took a solid kick to the jaw. Marcus’ was right up the middle, knocking Levin’s mouth guard out, and giving Marcus an opening to jump on him; whereas, Schilling’s caught him stepping back, his chin up and hands down, moments before the end of the round.

That he hasn't incurred greater damage regularly, kicks or otherwise, further inculcates the deft of his footwork and defense. When he does get hit it is primarily due to his predilection for keeping his head in the same place. Levin was able to move inside well against Parparyan but he wouldn't always dip into his left body hook that he leads precariously with, and Parparyan would register a breaking right hand on his chin.

Schilling didn't always make Levin pay for this in their first or second fight. To slow Levin down coming in, Schilling used his teep that did give him a chance to launch a 1-2 and maybe side step out, but Levin routinely came over top of it with a left hook. By keeping his hands low, Levin gives opponents the opportunity to hit him; however, they have to hit him, and predominantly they don’t.

IV. Himself

Levin can be a dominant fighter, as his Glory Last Man Standing PPV performances showed, but he has also been detrimental to himself. Against Parparyan in the first round, he repeatedly came forward and pressed his head through his guard. Despite the referee warning him to stop head-butting, he continued to do it, and had a point taken away from him. If he had recused himself from that, or matured to pulling his guard up earlier in the fight, he might have been able to win the fight in the third rather than the extra fourth round.

Equally problematic is his habit to hug his opponent after he lands his strikes to stifle their offense and get out their range with the break. This is a different calculation in Glory than Lion Fight or another organization fought under Muay Thai rules, where the time allotted for clinches is more liberal. In Glory Levin doesn't have to worry about being held there if he facing a stronger opponent, and he can fit in his occasional knees to the body if he feels before and during the referee’s attempt to separate them.

Conversely, outside of Glory, and particularly against Simon Marcus, it was not nearly as beneficial. Marcus was undefeated prior to Saturday night in large part due to his masterful clinch work. In the first round of their fight, Levin was able to pivot away and throw Marcus into the ropes. As the fight went on, though, Marcus was wearing on him with knees to the side body that he was trying to escape with and crossing and uppercut elbows.

He suffers physically and on the scorecards in these instances, while he only suffers on the judge’s scorecards fighting in Glory when he might actually be dominating the bout. This is the problem, for he could theoretically lose a fight he was winning because he refused to sever himself from needless practices. Yet they are not needless to his strategy.

They are his strategy. The objective of every fight is to win. Levin wins.

The danger, though, these, along with the other weaknesses addressed in this article, pose cannot be ignored. They certainly are not by him and that is one of the reasons he has been successful and won the Glory Middleweight Championship last weekend.

Maybe these are not weaknesses. Maybe they are his strengths, and that they occasionally falter is a mathematical normality. They could be the key to defeating him or the key to him defeating you.

Since winning the Glory middleweight title Artem Levin has been spending a lot more time in America. He seems to have found himself a comfortable place at "The Boxing Club" in San Diego, California to train and coach.

Here is a really cool video of Artem training on the bag and pads, it really shows you how athletic he is with his diverse strikes that are all being thrown with wicked speed and power.

After a rather disappointing rating for GLORY 20 Dubai, thanks in part to tape delay, GLORY 21 shows the brand's durability by snapping back into line with a reported 488,000 average viewers on Spike TV. According to our bud Michael Stets over at MMAMania, Spike TV has disclosed that GLORY 21 drew an average of 488,000 viewers for GLORY 21, which is the fifth highest rating to date on Spike TV.

It's a solid rebound after GLORY 19 drew the second-highest with 542,000 viewers and for GLORY 20 to dip to the next-to-worst ratings with 359,000. A gain of 129,000 viewers is quite impressive for the brand on a Friday evening considering that the card was a bit underwhelming when it comes to star names outside of the main event between Simon Marcus and Artem Levin and the co-main event featuring Raymond Daniels in a feature bout.

For now we will have to wait with baited breath for GLORY 22, which features a Lightweight tournament and a Heavyweight Championship fight in what many fans consider a very good card, and if the tape delay curse will strike again for GLORY. The peak numbers are not yet available, but we will update with them when it is available.

Artem's come a long way since 2008, but in this bout in Sweden, he was just starting to break out internationally. He's a tall, craft fighter who uses the advantages of his build well in the ring. He's got a fair bit of athleticism in his frame, too. He wears the blue gloves in this bout.

Yodsaenklai Fairtex at the time already was one of the most famous Thai nak muays on the planet. Before fighting internationally, he'd had a distinguished career in Thailand, winning a Lumpini title at 115 lb flyweight. He steadily moved up in weight in Thailand, fighting other highly ranked fighters like Sam-A Thor Ratanakiat, Orono Wor Petchpun, and Ponsaneh Sitmonchai, before moving from Petchyindee to Fairtex and fighting internationally at 70 kg, 154 lb.

Before this first match with Artem -- they would rematch at 75 kg, 165 lb, in the 2010 Sport Accord games in Beijing -- Yodsaenklai had met Farid Villaume and John Wayne Parr twice in the ring. The Contender Asia broadcast was drawing to a close and he was close to the height of his international regard, so a win over him would have definitely propelled Artem into the top ranks.